Trust Me
by omg-someone-actually
Summary: A new character is added to Bakugan. ShunxOC
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you want to go through with this Riley?" Griffin whispered into my ear.

"Yes. I need to go back there and get back the things they took from me." I said.

"As you wish. I will open the portal now."

I jumped in fearlessly. I had no idea what would happen was on the other side this time, but I didn't care. As long as I got to see my brother and Phoenix again I didn't care what I had to do or where I had to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shun's POV **

"So where have you been man? You just disappeared off the face of the earth." Dan said.

"It was really weird. I was up in the mountains, by myself, working on my ninja skills; when suddenly I crack in the dimension appeared in front of me. Next thing I knew I was sucked into it and landed here." I said.

After we got each up to speed, I noticed something on a cliff we were passing. It looked like… a battle?

"Baron, stop the truck!" I shouted

"What? Why!?" Baron said as he stopped.

"What is it Shun?" Dan asked me.

"Look up there." Every one directed their attention towards the cliff and gasped. On the cliff was Volt and he was battling a girl I had never seen before. I quickly ran outside. I could just make out what they were saying.

"You should just give up now girl." Volt said.

"I don't even know the meaning of the phrase 'give up'." I heard her say. Her voice sounded very determined.

"Well you should learn it! Time to finish up Brontes, deliver the final blow!" With that said a huge beam of light hit her and her bakugan. It knocked her right off the cliff! It happened so fast I didn't have time to save her! We all ran over to her to see Volt standing next to her motionless body. I could tell she hit the cliff on the way down; there was blood on her left arm.

"Not you guys again" Volt said.

"What did you do to her?!" Dan shouted. He looked really angry.

"All I did was beat her in a brawl." He said calmly with an evil smile. I don't think I have ever seen this girl before…

"Why were you battling her? Do you know her Volt?" I asked.

"Me? No. But Prince Hydron does. He ordered me to capture her. Long story short; he wants to marry her." Everyone gasped.

"Hydron wants to marry this girl?" asked Ace.

"Yes. So if you don't mind I'll be taking her and leaving." He said as he bent down to pick her up.

"No way." I jumped in front of him. "I won't let you do that" I said while giving him a glare. We just stared at each for a while. I wasn't just going to let an innocent girl marry that demon.

"Fine brawler. But I'll be back for her." Then he took off. I looked at the girl. 'What happened to you?' I thought.

"So what do we do with her?" asked Marucho.

"I say we bring her back to headquarters." Mira said.

"Oh no! We are not bringing some strange girl into our headquarters!" Ace shouted.

"We're not leaving her here! She's bleeding, unconscious, and the Vexos are after her. I'm not leaving her here like this." Dan said.

"Ugh, fine. But when she recovers she's gone. Do I make myself clear?" Ace growled.

"Fine yeah, whatever. Shun, help me get her onto my back and I'll carry her to the truck." Dan said.

Before we could touch her something spoke up. "Wait! What are you doing? Who are you? Are you going to help her?" It asked.

I answered "Yes. We are the Bakugan Resistance. My name is Shun Kazami. She's hurt so we're going to help her. Who are you?"

"My name is Darkus Griffin, I'm this girl's bakugan. That's nice of you to help her." The bakugan replied. I smiled at the bakugan. When I picked her up she was surprising light. When got her back to headquarters, I placed her on my bed and bandaged her wounds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shun's POV**

"I must thank you again for helping Riley since she probably won't." Said Griffin.

"Riley is her name?" I asked

"Yes. Her name is Riley Williams."

"About what you said before, what do you mean she won't thank us?" I asked.

"Well… Riley is very stubborn and …" Griffin said and then started to mumble.

"Go on." I actually wanted to know more about Riley. I just felt like I should know more…

"I...I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything more than her name." Griffin said.

"Why not? I want to help her." I said angrily.

"Sorry, but Riley doesn't want many people knowing about her and her past. If you want to help her you'll first have to gain her trust and ask her yourself."

"Fine." I said displeased. I looked at Riley. I thought she was unconscious until she moved on her side. She was sleeping. I took a long look at her.

Griffin broke the silence, "Wow, look at that."

"What? She's just sleeping?" I spoke.

"That's right; I haven't seen Riley sleep so peacefully in a long time." Griffin said. "She must feel pretty safe to even sleep…and by the way, when I said you have to earn her trust it won't be easy. Riley has had a lot of loss in her life so she doesn't trust many people."

'Really?' I thought 'I guess we have something in common than…' Then I left the room and return to the others. When I entered the room everyone gathered around me.

"How is she?" asked Mira.

"She's sleeping. I tried talking to her bakugan, Griffin, to see if I could find out any information about her, but all I got was her name." I informed them. "Her name is Riley Williams." When I said her name Marucho lit up like a christmas tree.

"Wait, Riley Williams?" Marucho shouted.

"Yeah. Why? Do you know her?" I said.

"I don't know her directly, but her father is very rich and is friends with my father. Also I do know that she has a brother named Tony. He's 3 years younger than her." Marucho said.

"Ok well that's great, but what do we do now?" Dan asked.

"We wait till she wakes up so we can get some answers out of her." I said. After I said that we all started arguing about what to do until I heard an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Where am I? Who are you all?" it said. We all stopped and looked at the girl we had rescued earlier.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where am I? Who are you all?" Riley spoke.

"We are the Bakugan Resistance. We're fighting to save the bakugan that have been captured. My name is Dan Kuso." Dan said.

"… You are?" She said surprised.

"You know we'll talk about this later. I'll get her cleaned up." Mira said.

"Um…" She hesitated. "Alright…"

When they came back, the room went silent. I knew what everyone was thinking. Riley looked pretty, I guess. Her once dirty, long, messy, red hair was pulled back into a ponytail; it went down to about her waist. She had a side bang that covered most of her right eye. Her eyes were green. Not just any green I've seen, but a really bright green. Her body was really skinny and her arms weren't like sticks as I thought they would be. They were real muscular arms. She was definitely in shape. Her skin was slightly tanned. She was wearing a black jacket with a black tank top that stopped around her stomach and along the sides was that striped pattern we all wore on our clothing. She also wore purple shorts and black boots. She was almost as tall as me. I turned my face away from her to keep from starring.

**Riley's POV **

"We are the Bakugan Resistance. We're fighting to save the bakugan that have been captured. My name is Dan Kuso." A boy with brown hair said.

"… You are?" I said a little surprised. 'I doing the same thing… maybe I could… no… no way I can't risk it.' I thought.

"You know we'll talk about this later. I'll get her cleaned up." A girl in a full body suit said. I was about to tell her I wanted to know where I was, but I decided since I was going to get all this dirt off me, I thought why not? After getting cleaned up I went to the room I found myself in before. I put my hair into a ponytail and put my boots on. Then I noticed something on the bed.

"Riley we need to talk." Griffin said sitting on the bed. 'Good… he's ok. They didn't take him.' I thought.

"Griffin! You're okay! Yes of course, but first do you know what happened to us and why we're here?" I asked.

"All I know is that these people helped us. Maybe we should tell them about-"

"I'm not going to tell complete strangers everything about me!" I interrupted.

"Well they don't have to be. Plus, they want to free the bakugan! That means they're on our side! We can trust them!" Griffin said. The room fell silent. "Please reconsider." I looked out the window. "I don't know… trust has gotten to be a hard thing for me…" Just then the same girl who helped clean all the dirt off me came in.

"Hi there. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Mira**. **And you are?" she said with smile.

"Riley." I said quietly.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to the other brawlers." Mira said talking my hand pulling me up and out the door. Once we came to the room where everyone was. 'Oh no great, why is everyone staring? Is there something on my face** or** something?' I thought.

Then a boy with light purple hair came up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Baron! Can I have your number?!" I looked at him, surprised. He seemed very energetic and happy all the time. "Baron!" Mira said dragging Baron away by his ear. That's gotta hurt! Then, the boy who had told me they were fighting for the bakugan came up to me. "I'll introduce you to everyone. This is my bakugan, Drago." He said pointing to his bakugan.

"These are my pals, Marucho and Shun." He said pointing to the short boy with glasses and the boy leaning against the wall, eyes closed, and face looking away from me. Anyway the short boy said, "Please to meet you, Riley." Shun didn't say a thing to me, but I think his face told me all I needed to know. I do have to admit Shun was kind of cute. "Also this is Ace." Dan said pointing to the boy with the pale blue hair. He was without a doubt a darkus brawler like me.

"Now that we're done with introductions," Shun said walking towards me, "I want some answers." 'Answers?! Great, now they expect me to trust them all.' I thought. I didn't just want to tell them everything! I barely knew them! But, maybe they could earn the answers…

"Hello?" Shun said seeing I was in deep thought.

"Yeah, hi," I said snapping me back into reality, "I'll tell you your answers. Only if you can beat me in a brawl." I said seriously, putting my purple gauntlet on. Everyone looked surprised. "Did you really think I'd tell you everything you want to know without a price?" I said, "Now, who is the strongest among you all?"

"I am" Dan spoke, "but, are you sure you want to take me on? I mean you were beaten by Volt."

"I wasn't exactly in the greatest mood when Volt asked me." I replied.

"Alright then, let's battle!" Dan said stepping outside, "If I win; you tell us what we want to know and you join the resistance. If you win; you can leave and we won't ask you anything. Agreed?"

"Agreed." I replied. 'All right! All I have to do; is win. This will be no sweat.' I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shun's POV**

"Now that we're done with introductions," I said walking towards her, "I want some answers." After I said that she was deep in thought, staring at the floor. "Hello?" I said impatiently.

"Yeah, hi," She said snapping back into reality, "I'll tell you your answers, but only if you can beat me in a brawl." She said seriously, putting her gauntlet on. Everyone was surprised to hear her say that, even me. "Did you really think I'd tell you anything you wanted to know without a price?" She said, "Now, who is the strongest among you all?" When she said that I was going to challenge her, but Dan beat me to it.

"I am" Dan spoke, "but, are you sure you want to take me on? I mean you were beaten by Volt."

"I wasn't exactly in the greatest mood when Volt asked me." Riley replied.

"Alright then, let's battle!" Dan said stepping outside, "If I win; you tell us what we want to know and you join the resistance. If you win; you can leave and we won't ask you anything. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Riley replied.

Now when Riley challenged Dan, I thought for sure that Dan would have won, I never thought that Riley could actually defeat Dan! I guess her ability, Darkus Nightmare, give her the advantage in the first round and her game card, Attribute Freeze; gave her the win…' I thought to myself. When I picked my head up I saw Dan on ground taking to himself and Riley walking over to him. She held out her hand gesturing he take it. When he did, she bought him to his feet.

"Dan, you are a strong opponent indeed, but cockiness was your downfall. You thought for sure you would beat me because Volt did, but you judged me too quickly." Riley said with a smile.

"I'd hate to admit it, but she's right Dan." I said jumping in.

"I know, I know. It was a good battle though." Dan said as he shook her hand, "and I guess since I lost, you can leave if you want…" Dan said a little sad.

"Yeah… I should get going." She said running back to the trailer to get her stuff.

"I can't believe I got beat by girl!" Dan said angrily.

"She wiped the floor with you!" Ace said laughing.

"Are we really going to let a girl with so much power just leave?" Mira asked.

"Not to mention; a HOT, strong girl!" Baron added.

"Well we have to, we made an agreement and she won. End of story." Dan said. 'Well I'm not going to let her leave without the answers I want.' I thought as I walked to the trailer.

"Hey Shun! Where are you going?" I heard Dan yelling to me. "I'm going to convince her to stay!" I yelled back.

When I reach the trailer, I stopped Riley before she could walk out the door. She tried to get passed me, but I refused to let her leave.

"Alright, it's obvious you're not going to let me pass. So, what do you want?" Riley said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Answers." I said with a glare.

"What happened to the agreement we had?" I asked.

"The agreement was between you and Dan. I never agreed to it." I replied.

"But-"Riley began before being cut off by her bakugan. "Riley come on! He's the one who bandaged your wound and he's the one who's been waiting to ask you questions! Please, just give him 5 minutes!" Griffin said trying to convince Riley. She fell silence. I could tell she was in deep thought again.

"Fine. 5 minutes. That's it." Riley finally said. I smirked and directed her back to my room. When sat down and I could she wasn't happy.

"What does Hydron have on you?" I asked.

"My past partner bakugan and … my brother." She replied **slowly**.

"How did Hydron get your brother?"

"Well, when I refused to marry him, he kidnapped him."

"How did Hydron pick you to be his bride and how did you get here?" She sighed.

"Ok, when I found the loyal palace, I broke in to get Phoenix back. But, when I got there Phoenix was statue and Hydron told me all about this collection he had. Then when we battled, I lost and he decided that I was going to be his bride. Before he could get to me though, Griffin opened a portal so we could escaped. Then Hydron took my brother and Griffin and I decided to return to Vestroia and try again. I would have been here sooner, but it between the battle and opening the portal to escape, Griffin was wore out and we had to wait before opening it again." 'Wow. She has been through a lot…' I thought.

"Does your brother mean a lot to you?" I asked. She was silence for a minute before answering.

"My brother is my whole world. Without him I have nothing left…" she replied sadly.

"What about the rest of your family?" I asked.

"What rest? My mom died a few years ago and my dad has some new girlfriend and has no time for us… It's just been me and my brother." Riley said as she looked at the floor.

"Well you know, we want to get free the bakugan and with you on our side; it would give us a huge advantage. Also we can help you save your brother. With us helping you, you'll have a better chance of getting him back." I said hoping she would say yes.

"Please Riley." Griffin added.

She returned her attention back to me and said, "You'll help me get me brother back?"

"Absolutely." I said giving her smile.

She signed once again and said, "Ok, I'll join your resistance."

"That's great! Come on, we should tell the others." I said gesturing her to the door.

When we came to the room everyone was in, they all fell silence. I punched her arm lightly with my elbow; I wanted her to say it. Then she spoke up, "I have decided to join the resistance… If that's okay I guess…" Everyone looked at each other. Dan stood up, "That's great! What changed your mind?" She looked at me and said, "Shun did." When I heard that I blushed a light pink. "Wow okay," Dan said as he walked towards her "but do you promise to trust us?" With that he held his hand out waiting for her to shake it. She looked at Dan's hand and then at Griffin. "Yeah, I promise." She said as she shook his hand.

Then, I showed Riley where she would be staying.

"I hope you don't mind sharing with Mira." I said.

"Not at all. She seems nice." She replied.

"Yeah, she is. Also just so you know, we're almost to Alpha City." I informed her.

She laughed. "Funny. There's where I was headed." She said.

**Riley's POV**

"I hope you don't mind sharing with Mira." Shun said.

"Not at all. She's seems nice." I replied.

"Yes, I know. Also just so you know we're almost to Alpha City." Shun informed me.

I laughed, "Funny. There's where I was headed." I said. 'Don't worry Tony, I'm coming.' I thought. When he left, Griffin spoke. "Riley that's great that you had decided to trust these people!"

"Well don't get too excited. It's only till we get Phoenix and Tony back." I told Griffin.

"Yeah, yeah. So what do you think of Shun?" Griffin asked me. When he said that my eyes widened. "Wha- what do you mean?! I barely know him."

"You may say that, but I think you might have took a liking to this guy." He said laughing. I shot him a glare. 'So what? It's not like I want to go out with him or anything…' I thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Riley's POV**

"Finally, there it is." Dan said.

"Alpha City New Vestroia, here we come!" Marucho sang as he danced. I couldn't help it, I giggled when he did this.

"Okay. Follow me." Shun said as he lead us to a duct that goes underground and connects to the city. 'Impressive.' I thought.

"So we can sneak into the city undetected." Dan said as he helped Marucho up.

"How did you find this Shun?" Marucho asked.

"I've been studying the area for a couple of days." He replied.

"Nice work man! It's great to have you on the team!" Dan shouted.

"Let's go!" Shun said before jumping in. 'Wow. He's good. But, I could do better.' I thought.

"That is some seriously awesome ninja action! Now it's my turn!" Baron said as tried to mimic Shun. 'He doesn't exactly have the ninja thing down unlike me.' Then I jumped in, made my way down and landed flat on my feet. Then everyone joined Shun, Baron, and I at the bottom.

As we were walking Dan asked, "How did you make it down perfectly like Shun?"

"Simple. Shuns not the only ninja in this group." I replied with a smirk. He looked amazed. I also noticed Shun listening to my reason.

**Shun's POV**

When I bought everyone to this duct I found, I thought no one would have landed perfectly on their feet, until I saw Riley jump in. Then she jumped in, she made it all the down perfectly and even landed flat on her feet. Then when everyone else joined us at the bottom, they all either fell or almost fell, but not Riley. As we were walking I found that question eating away at me.

"How did you make it down perfectly like Shun?" Dan asked

"Simple. Shun isn't not the only ninja in this group." I heard Riley replied. 'She's a ninja?! That explains why she's so skinny and muscular. She just got a lot more interesting.' I thought to myself.

"Whoa! Riley's a ninja!?" Dan shouted. Everyone then directed their attention towards Dan and Riley.

She laughed a bit and then spoke, "Yeah, that's right."

"Looks like Shun has met his match!" Ace said while laughing. We both glanced at each other before she turned away from me.

**Riley's POV**

"Man, I thought we would never get here!" Dan said and then screamed at some add for brawling. Then out of nowhere, a bunch of cars were speeding down the road! We all made it safely across except for Dan. Honestly in my mind it was kind of funny watching him try to get across.

"Looks like we got here in the middle of rush hour!" Marucho informed us.

"How about a little warning… next time… Shun!" Dan said out of breath.

"Sorry dude. Check it out." Shun said. We started to explore the city. It looked like a regular old city to me…

"Wow. Awesome!" Dan said.

"This is where I used to live. My father still works here." Said Mira.

"This was not what I was expecting. I thought it would look more evil like." Dan said confused.

"I know what you mean Dan. Everyone just looks like us. But, it doesn't make sense. How come they don't know about the bakugan?" Marucho asked.

While we were walking, that same ad popped up that Dan screamed at before and three kids were looking at it.

"Cool! Can't wait!" said the kid in the middle.

"It's gonna be the best. But, no one can take on Spectra!" the kid on the left spoke.

"No way! My brother is going to crush them all!" the one on the right shouted. When they carried on their conversation, it seems like the people here actually look up to the Vexos.

"Everyone needs to learn the truth." Baron said.

"Remember, it's not their fault. I used to be the same till I found out." Mira said.

"We need to make them understand!" Dan said angrily.

"That's right. We'll tell the Vestals the whole truth and then they'll see. Good plan Elfin?" Marucho asked the blue bakugan in his hand.

"Sure, sure, but maybe to just be on the safe side, we should destroy the controller first." Elfin spoke.

"Yeah! I'm with her! Where is the controller?" Dan asked.

Shun pointed to the battle arena. "Over there!"

"The tower on top holds the controller." Baron said.

"What are we waiting for? Lets get to work! Come on, Shun." Dan said.

"Hold on. I want to check out the controller first guys." Shun said.

"Have you lost it? That controller has to be destroyed like now!" Dan said.

"Hold on, Dan. I think we should hear him out. I mean he is the one who got us here." I said.

"Yeah, give me a minute. I want to try something." Shun said.

"Whatever! Lets just get going!" Dan said with his fist in the air.

"No. I can't join you. There's something I have to take care of. Alone." Mira said and then just ran off. 'Oh great. Now I'm the only girl.' I thought.

"What the?" Dan said. "Mira Stop!" Marucho shouted.

"Weird." Dan said.

After Mira took off, we were checking out the security of the arena.

"Man, security around here is tighter than Shun's jeans." Dan said laughing, "We won't even get close with all those guards around."

"Wait, look over there Master Dan!" Baron said to Dan.

"It looks like they're doing a battle before the tournament starts." Ace said.

"Where? Where?!" Dan asked, "Oh there they are. You see that?"

"Just what I thought. The battle arena and controller seem to be in sync." Shun said.

"So, is this what you wanted to check out Shun?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, we'll take advantage of that lynch to destroy the controller." Shun said. "Lets get out of here first, and then I'll explain."

"But what about Mira?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, maybe we should wait." Marucho said.

"I can't believe she ditched us like that!" Dan said.

"Relax, she probably had a good reason for leaving." I said.

"Yeah, well I'm going to contact her. Mira! Yo Mira! Come in!" Dan shouted.

"Dan, please keep it down." Mira responded quietly.

"Keep it down?! We have got bakugan to save! Remember?" Shouted Dan. 'I had a feeling he wouldn't keep his voice down.' I thought.

"Things are a lot worse than you think. Get here fast!" Mira said.

"What? Are you alright? Just tell us where you are." Dan said.

"Scored us a ride, guys!" Baron said while standing in front of a big green car. Also in the car was an automatic driver.

"Follow our friend's signal! Hurry!" Marucho shouted.

"Welcome to happy cab!" It said.

"Okay. That's creepy!" I said.

"We're in a hurry so step on it!" Dan said. "Is there a 'go' button around here?"

"Oh boy that's the rocket bust. Hold on tight!" it said.

"Dan, you should never touch the red button!" I said before it took off! Before we knew it, the car cashed right into the building Mira was in. It looked like she was battling Lync.

"Guys! You're here!" Mira said.

Lync laughed. "Yeah just in time. Now you can lose in front of an audience, Mira."

"Lync! You again!" Dan said.

"Oh! I'm full of surprises and it's seeing you again, Riley. Or should I say Princess Riley." He said as he threw down his game card.

"I'm not marring that creep! And call me that again, you'll have one less arm to brawl with!" I shouted at him.

"Riley, don't let him get into your head." Griffin whispered into my ear.

"Yes, I know." I replied trying to calm myself down.

"Check this! Bakugan brawl! Ventus Altair stand!" Lync shouted as a huge mechanical beast rose. And there it was; the disgraceful monster known as a 'mechanical' bakugan that I've heard about.

"What is that?" Dan asked.

"It's a cybernetic bakugan. Unfortunately, my father was one who created it." Mira said.

"Your dad made his own bakugan?!" Dan said.

"Don't acted all surprised. Vestal science can do anything and Altair is living proof." Lync said.

"Oh yeah! That thing will never get pass a real bakugan! Drago ready?" Dan asked.

"You bet." Drago replied. But right when Dan was going to brawl Mira stopped him.

"Wait Dan! This is my mess to clean up." Mira said as she stared at the floor.

"But Mira-"Dan started.

"That's an order Dan! I have to do this." Mira said.

"Maybe she's right Dan. It's her father who did this. So keep it in the family. Right?" Marucho said.

"Understand?" Mira asked Dan.

"Well, okay then. He's yours. Just be careful. Okay?" Dan said. Mira nodded and the battle started. It seemed like a regular battle until Altair took too much damage.

"Anyone know what's going on?" Mira asked.

"Hit him now Mira!" I shouted.

"She's right! Time to pull Altair's plug!" Baron said.

"Baron and Riley are right! Mira, do it!" Ace shouted. Then when she attacked, Lync pulled out another double ability.

"Snap! This looks bad." Dan said.

"Mira! Get down!" Ace shouted.

"Wilda!" Mira said.

"Too late. Shock them, Altair!" Lync said. Right when Altair attacked, it missed. "Hey what the?" Then Altair went down.

"That's it?" Dan asked.

"Oh well. Big deal. It's just another broken bakugan. You got lucky." Lync said.

"You don't even care?" Dan asked.

"Why? Soon Professor Clay will perfect it." Lync said. This was no surprise to me considering the kind of person Lync was, but no for the resistance who all gasped. "So don't sweat it. I'll finish this off next time we get together." Then he left.

"That's right, take your broken toy and go home!" Dan shouted.

"What's wrong with you!" Mira shouted at a man in a lab coat that was watching the battle. 'That must be her father.' I thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Riley's POV**

Today was the day of the tournament and we were discussing our strategy.

"I stole these diagrams the last time I snuck into the city." Shun said. "According to this, the power generated from the battles is absorbed inside the arena and then transmitted to the outside world through the controller."

"So what's the point of that?" Dan asked.

"There's an awful lot of power generated by bakugan battles." Mira said.

"And if that power isn't released, the controller would get overloaded." Baron said.

"So if the battle still feed power into the controller-" Ace started.

"Exactly and if we can block the transmission, right here, the power will back up. Building and building." Shun said.

"Until the pressure becomes too much. Then the controller will implode." I said finishing Shun's thought.

"Then we must take advantage of the incoming tournaments." Drago said.

"Really? That's now!" Dan said.

"The battle of the bakugan is about to begin! Will all competitors please register? Don't miss your chance to brawl with the best." The announcer said.

"Okay everyone. We need to move fast! We'll have to broke up into two teams. Two people will battle together in the tournament and the rest of us will sneak inside and find the controller." Mira said.

"I call the battle! Drago and I will fight for the resistance!" Dan shouted.

"No flair! I want to fight! You always get the battles Master Dan!" Baron shouted. Then everyone started arguing. Mira and I were getting annoyed.

"Riley, do you want fight?" Mira asked me.

"I think it's better if I didn't. The Vexos know me and my bakugan from earlier brawls. It would blow our cover." I replied.

"Good point." Mira said.

"Don't you think we should break up the arguing that's going on?" I said while pointing to the five guys fighting.

"Alright that is enough!" Mira shouted. "Be quiet! We will draw numbers to decide." After Dan found out he was going to help Baron, Mira, Marucho and I find the controller, he screamed. Shun and Ace were going to be doing the battling for us.

"This is killing me!" Dan said. "I should be the one down there, battling. I can't even bare to watch this."

"Stay focused Dan. You're important to the plan." Drago said.

"Why do they get all the fun?" Dan asked.

"Because you lost the draw." I simply said and receiving a glare from Dan.

"Master Dan, look." Baron said as he pointed to the controller.

"Unbelievable." Dan said.

"That's the key to our mission." Mira said.

"Man. Those two are one odd match up." Dan pointed out.

"I agree." Drago said.

"Once again, the battle goes to the Bakugan Brawlers!" The announcer said.

"I could have finished them off a lot faster if you would have stayed out of way. Get the hint?" Ace whined.

"I saved your bakugan and you know it." Shun replied coldly.

"What?" Ace said angrily.

"Those two guys are making me nervous." Mira said.

"Shun and Ace are like fire and ice. Their battling styles are different." Baron said.

Dan screamed and said, "This is driving me completely crazy! Let me trade places with them. They can destroy the controller!" Baron and I then grabbed Dan to make him stop yelling.

"Dan, stop shouting and be quiet!" I shouted.

"Yeah Master Dan! Your letting everyone know our plan!" Baron said.

"Good. Marucho is up next." Mira said. He threw in the cutest aquos bakugan I've ever seen.

Next thing I knew, the announcer said Marucho was disqualified for losing control of his bakugan. 'Poor Marucho…' I thought. Now that that's over, Marucho was going to help us get to the controller. We all stood by a door waiting for Marucho. Then the door opened and we have Marucho to thank for it.

"Coast is clear guys." Marucho said.

"Thanks. Good work, Marucho." Mira said.

"That was an amazing performance in the arena earlier Marucho. Thanks for getting us inside. Baron" Dan said.

"I hacked into their system and downloaded their floor plans." Baron said.

"We must stay focused." Drago said.

"Lets get going then." I said. As we made our way through the building, we all noticed an increased amount of guards.

"There are more guards than we expected." Drago said quietly.

"Whenever the Vexos show up, the security is always super tight." Baron said.

"Should we turn back?" Elfin asked.

"No. We can't stop now." Marucho replied.

"This is our chance." Dan said.

"Hey. What are you doing here? How did you guys get in here? Show us your ID cards." Two guards asked us.

"We lost our ID cards!" Baron panicked.

"We left them in our other pants!" Marucho said panicking as well. Mira and I started giggled.

"Oh please tell the Vexos that their number one fans are here!" I said jumping. Mira grabbed baron's hand and I grabbed Dan's hand.

"Oh my gosh guys! They're really here, aren't they!?" Mira shouted. "Maybe we could get their autograph or maybe they'll sign my jacket!?" We all hide behind a wall and sighed.

"That was quick thinking Mira and Riley." Baron said.

"You guys are such fan girls! 'Vexos totally rock!'" Dan said trying to mimic us.

"Very funny!" Mira and I said. Dan laughed. Then the Vexos came walking down the hallway.

"The Vexos" Dan said.

"Stay cool, Dan." Mira said.

"Do you have anything to report?" Gus asked the two guards that stopped us before.

"Nothing unusual. A few of your fans snuck backstage though." One of the guards replied.

"Really? What fans?" Spectra asked.

"Should I check on it?" Gus asked Spectra.

"Don't brother. It's nothing." Spectra replied while he flipped his bakugan in his hands. 'He flips his bakugan just like I do before I throw it into battle.' I thought.

"So Spectra is here. I can't pass up that opportunity! I'm going to challenge him!" Dan said trying to bolt for Spectra. Then baron put his hand over Dan's mouth, but it was too late! Gus and Spectra heard us! So, we ran out of there before they could notice!

"Wait to go Dan." Baron said as we ran.

"Keep it together!" I warned.

"If we get caught now, it's over! And I for one do not want to get caught!" Marucho said.

"Okay, I'm sorry!" Dan said. Then we heard some kind of cheering.

"I hope that's good cheering." Dan said. Then Marucho showed us the battle and it didn't look good for Ace and Shun.

"I'd stay, it's bad cheering." Baron said.

"What are those guys doing out there? Stop stalling and start brawling." Dan said. In the end, Shun and Ace won and will now be battling Lync and Volt.

"I knew they could do it!" Dan said.

"Yeah, now it's our turn!" Mira said. Then we continued running down the hallway.

"Oh snap! Which way is it to the controller?" Dan asked.

"Let me check. I think it's this way." Baron said.

"We have got to hurry! Shun and Ace's battle will be starting at any minute now." Dan said and then took off. After a while I noticed there wasn't a tiny, aquos brawler behind me.

"Hey, where's Marucho?" I asked.

"Should I go back for him?" Baron asked.

"No, he was never good at running. We'll get him on the way back." Dan replied. Then we entered a room where all the bakugan were held captive. I personally found the sight sickening.

"What are they doing in there?" Baron asked.

"They have been put in there to keep them prisoners." Mira replied.

"It's worse than I expected." Drago said.

"No! The bakugan must be freed! Right now! Wake up! Wake up everybody!" Dan shouted.

"Dan, it's no use." Drago said.

"He's right. We won't be able to free them until we have destroyed the controller." Mira said.

"Fine. Then lets go. I can't stand watching this." Dan said. The lights came on and a bunch of guards opened the opened the door.

"You! Freeze!" One of them said.

"This is a restricted area. How did you kids get in here?" Another one said. There was no way out. We were trapped. They tied us up and then brought us to a room with a bunch of video screens.

"Kids or no kids. You guys are traitors and will be treated that way. So why don't you just confess?" the guard said.

"To what? Trying to free the bakugan and give back their home?" Mira responded.

"Enough." The guard said.

"Looks like this battle is over before it's even started! The Vexos have slammed the Bakugan Brawlers right out of the game!" The announcer shouted. 'No. It can't be almost over. They're stronger than that.' I thought.

"Well, there's a big surprise right kids? There's no one who can defeat the Vexos." Said the other guard.

"We're going to prove you wrong!" Dan said.

"Oh?" the guard said.

"I will tell you this; everything you believe in is a lie!" Dan said.

"Open your eyes fools!" Drago shouted. "New Vestroia belongs to the bakugan and we're fighting to free them." The guards gasped after hearing a bakugan speak.

"A talking bakugan is impossible!" one of the guards said.

"No it isn't!" Griffin shouted.

"We're living evidence!" Wilda said.

"Wake up! You can't deny this anymore!" Mira said.

"Do what's right!" Baron said.

"Help us free the bakugan." Dan said. Then Marucho fell through the celling!

"Oh boy! That's gotta hurt!" Elfin said.

"Did I survive? Sorry guys. I got a bit lost." Marucho said.

"Good work Marucho!" Dan shouted. We got out of the ropes and ran towards the room where the reversal switch was.

"We're running out of time! Ace and Shun won't be able to keep the battle going much longer!" Dan said. Then right around the corner a bunch of guards were waiting for us. 'Looks like a job for me.' I thought. Mira ran a cart right into them. Marucho was holding on to a leg of a guard and me and baron were holding some back so they couldn't move.

"Go ahead Dan. We'll hold them back." I reported.

"Here are the plans." Baron said.

"We're counting on you Dan!" Marucho cried.

"It's all up to me." Dan said before taking off.

Then when Dan was gone I knew what I had to do. I jammed my elbow into the guard I was heading back. He was knocked unconscious. Then one by one I knocked them all out.

"Whoa! Riley did you… kill them?" Baron asked me.

"What? No way. I only knocked them unconscious. Now come on. We'll only have a few minutes before they wake up!" I said.

"Right, lets go!" Mira said. Then we ran down the hall. When got to the door there even more guards there! But Dan managed to do it and the controller was destroyed. All the bakugan that were kept in those bottles were now freed.

"We did it!" Dan shouted.

"The controller has been destroyed." Drago said.

"Thanks to us." Dan said. Then all the freed bakugan broke through floor of the arena. Everyone was scared and was about run away.

"Wait. You have nothing to be afraid of. The bakugan are living, intelligent beings." Mira said.

"She speaks the truth." Drago said. There were gasped all over the arena. No one here ever thought a bakugan could speak.

"The bakugan deserve their freedom. They are our friends." Dan said. Everyone fell silent. Then a huge beam from the arena's structure broke and was coming down on the audience. But, before it could crush them, the bakugan the Dark Angels battled with caught the beam just in time.

"Is everyone alright?" one of them said. They all cheered. 'I guess that means they understand.' I thought. Then all the bakugan we saved thanked us and wanted to join us.

"Awesome! Our team is getting betting every day!" Baron shouted.

"Then it's settled. We all stand or fall united." Drago said.

"The Vexos won't have a chance against us!" Marucho said.

"We're still pretty badly outnumbered though." Ace said.

"Just the way we like it." Percival said.

"All right! I'm seriously pumped! We could start a bakugan revolution!" Dan shouted.

We all cheered. 'This turning out to be fun.' I thought.


	8. Chapter 8

**Riley's POV**

"According to this, Beta City is on the other side of the mountain." Mira said.

"Baron, adjust the course for rough terrain." Ace said to Baron.

"You got it Ace." Baron replied.

"I thought you guys might be thirsty." Marucho said as he carried a big tray with seven cups on it.

"Thanks buddy." Dan said as he took a cup. "Alright next stop Beta City and the next controller!"

"Like it Dan?" Marucho asked. Dan's face turned red and then spit his drink out.

"Hey! Watch the instrument panel! It doesn't need a bath." Mira said and Ace sighed.

"Sorry about that." Dan said. "Hey shun, have you ever noticed that Mira sounds just like Runo?" Dan said trying to whisper to Shun. Lucky for me, he's bad at whispering. "Kind of." Shun replied. 'I wonder if they're talking about the Runo I'm thinking of…' I thought.

"Hey Riley, wanna help me with dinner?" Mira asked me. It's been awhile since I first join and I've gotten very close with Mira. She was the only one in the resistance that I actually really started to open up to. Mira was also I good listener when I needed one. Also I've gotten closer to Ace, Marucho, and Baron.

"Sure." I replied. Me and Mira prepared dinner and then we sat down for dinner outside with me and Shun at the head of the table, Dan, Marucho, and Baron to my left and Mira and Ace to my right. The boys started to eat, but the way they sounded it was like a train went by.

"Guys, do you have to make so make noise when you eat?" Mira asked.

"Runo used to say that too." Dan said sadly.

"Who's Runo?" Mira asked.

"Oh I know! She's one of the six original Bakugan Brawlers! Am I right Master Dan?" cried Baron. 'So I was right. They are talking about the Runo I know.' I thought.

"You miss her?" Mira asked.

Dan choked on his drink at hearing Mira's question. "What?"

"You sound jealous." Ace said laughing slightly.

"I just like to know where I stand." Mira replied. "She's your girlfriend?"

"No she's not." Dan pouted.

"That's not what I heard from Runo." Marucho said.

"Marucho!" Dan said as he giggled.

"She's not?" asked Drago.

"No she's not! I don't know where you guys get these ideas! Right Shun?" Dan screamed.

"She's not?" He said quietly. Dan fell right out of his chair. I started to laugh. Then after dinner everyone went to get some rest. Until I heard some strange voices. "Am I going crazy or something?" I asked Griffin.

"No. I heard them too." Griffin replied.

"Come on Julie!" the voice said.

"Runo I don't think this is safe!" the other voice shouted.

"I'll take that risk! Now just hit the switch!" Runo shouted. 'That's Runo's voice, I know it!' I thought. I ran outside to find Shun, Dan, and Marucho there already.

"It's coming from everywhere!" Shun said.

"Is that… Runo?" Dan asked.

"But, where if I read the instructions wrong? You could get hurt!" the voice panicked.

"That's Julie's voice. This is too weird." Marucho said.

"What's going on?" Mira asked.

"I thought I was dreaming, but it's real." Dan said.

"Stop talking! I could have been there already!" Runo shouted.

"I don't know! Maybe we should stop this while we still can, Runo!" Julie said.

"Don't bail on me Julie! Dan needs my help! Julie!" Runo said.

"But Runo!" Julie started.

"Julie, stop! Have you girls lost your minds?" a men's voice said.

"It's now or never!" Runo shouted.

"Julie, you mustn't!" another girl's voice shouted.

"I need to help Dan! Please!" Runo shouted.

"Ok Runo!" Julie said.

"Am I going crazy guys?" Dan asked.

"Dan." Runo said. When I looked at her I could almost see through her.

"Runo!" Dan shouted. "You never give up do you?"

"You doofus! Why'd ya ditch us?" Runo asked as she ran towards Dan, but she went right through him.

"She's trapped between here and New Vestroia. We have to find a way to save her before it's too late or she'll be lost between worlds forever." The man's voice said.

"Well at least I got to see you, Dan." Runo said.

"Runo?" I questioned as I stepped towards the transparent figure.

"Riley? Is that you?" Runo said.

"You guys know each other?" Shun asked.

"Yeah, we used to be best friends until she moved away." I replied sadly.

"Used to be? Girl, we are!" Runo said. That made me smile.

"Can we do this later? Doctor Michael, can you hear me? How do we save her?" Dan shouted.

"Dan, is that you?" the man's voice said.

"It's me doc! I'm here!" Dan said.

"I'm sending you coordinates to a dimensional gate. Get her there right away, I don't know how long it will stay open!" cried Dr. Michael.

"You got it! Come on Runo." Dan said.

"Right." Runo replied. Then we made our way to the gate.

"There it is!" Dan said as he pointed to the glowing light in the distance.

"Then let's go. Before the gate closing." Shun said.

"Okay then, let's do this." Dan said as he took off. Before Runo left she stopped by me and Shun.

"So, how did you guys get to New Vestroia? I mean… in one piece. Sorry. I'm glad you guys are here with him; Shun, Riley." Runo said.

"Me too, Runo." Shun said.

"Bye Runo." I said as, she too, took off running. They were almost there until Shadow showed up asking for a battle. Luckily, Marucho took him on. But, when I watched them go into the gate, Spectra, Gus, and Lync jumped in! Then Dan, Mira, and Baron followed. 'Why did they go?' I thought.

"Riley, how come you didn't go?" Griffin asked me.

"Because finding my brother and Phoenix is a little more important than catching up with Runo right now." I replied. In the end, Marucho won the battle and Mylene came and got Shadow.

"What the? Who's afraid now?" Marucho said.

"Bye-bye Shadow Prove." Ace said.

"I hope Runo and the others made it through the gate alright." I said.

"We'll just have to wait. Since we can't hear the voices anymore, the gate must have closed behind them. So until they're back, it's up to the four of us. Got a problem with that?" Shun said. 'Nope.' I thought.

"Yeah, I do. We're a team, you don't just take off!" Ace said angrily.

"Just give it a rest, Ace. We'll destroy the controller in Beta City. That should pass the time. Unless you're afraid." Shun said.

"As if! Maybe we'll have freed all the bakugan before they get back." Ace said as we walked back to the trailer.

"That's the sprit!" Marucho said. I started walking a little slower till I was in back of them. I wondered how Mira was doing. Spectra did enter the gate with Gus and Lync, so I wonder how she and the others were going to deal with them. Also Tony's image kept hunting my mind. Even though I've joined up with these people who seem trust-worthy and determined, I can't rest until I've seen with my own eyes that my brother was safe.

"Riley?" I looked up to see it was Shun who called my name.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Are you okay?" Shun said. Our eyes locked. I couldn't look away from his amber eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said while putting a fake smile on my face.

"Stop worrying." He said as he came closer. My heart started to beat a little faster.

"Who's says I'm worrying?" I questioned. He smirked.

"Well for one thing, I have figured out the difference between your fake smile and real one." He said still smirking at me. 'So you have been keeping an eye on me.' I thought.

"Looks like I need to come up with a better fake smile then." I joked. His smirk slowly turned into one of his real, amazing smiles. 'Well I have noticed a few things about you, Shun Kazami.' I thought.

"Dan and the others will be fine and we'll find your brother. I promise." He assured me.

I smiled and said, "Thank you, Shun."

"Riley! Shun! Are you coming?" Ace shouted from the trailer.

"We're coming." Shun replied. "Come on let's go." He said as he held out his hand. I took it and we walked back to the trailer hand in hand.


	9. Chapter 9

** Riley's POV**

"This can't be right! The Delta and Beta controllers are growing more and more powerful. What's going on?!" Marucho said.

"Drago was New Vestroia's Perfect Core. Without him here, New Vestroia is unstable and the controllers are getting stronger." Said Shun.

"That's not good. If the controllers get any more powerful, they'll reconnect and synchronize with Alpha City and we'll be back to square one." I said.

"That'll be a big job for just the four of us." Said Ace.

"The others and all the Bakugan are counting on us. We have to find a way. No matter what happens; Dan, Mira, and Baron would have wanted us to keep going." Said Marucho.

"Mira" Ace said quietly.

"Ace, watch out!" I said pointing to huge rock in our path. He didn't even notice and kept going. Once he hit it, Marucho was almost sent flying and knocked me right into Shun's arms. Luckily, he caught me right in time.

"Are you okay?" Shun asked me.

"Yup. Never better." I said while letting out a sigh. "Can't say I didn't warn you, Ace!"

"Yeah sorry, my bad." Ace said. "Hey, why don't we stop for the night?"

"With your driving, I think that's a good idea." Elfin said. Shun and Marucho were asleep, but I just couldn't fall asleep. So I went to look at the stars that always light up the night. But, I guess I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

"Hey." I said. Ace looked like he was in deep in thought.

"Oh hey. Why are you still up?" Ace asked.

"I couldn't sleep. What about you?" I replied.

"Me too. I have too much on my mind to sleep." Ace said as he starred off into space.

"Oh. You mean you're thinking about a certain girl?" I asked.

"What?! No. What don't you just go back to sleep?" Ace said angrily.

I giggled and said, "I think I will. But, it's late, you should too." Then I went back to sleep.

**Shun's POV**

"Shun." A voice said. 'That sounds like Dan's voice.' I thought.

"Dan?" I asked half asleep.

"Shun, Marucho; I can't hold on!" Dan's voice said.

"Okay. This is really freaking me out." Marucho said.

"Have you forgotten my voice already? Get moving and help me!" Dan's voice said.

"Sorry Dan, but what happened? Where are you?" Marucho said.

"Jeez you really are slow. I tried to get back, but I got stuck between dimensions." Dan's voice replied.

"You're in the dimensional gate?" He asked. Then a rainbow colored light appeared. "Over there? Don't worry. I'll save you, Dan!"

"Wait Marucho!" I said. Then I grabbed his arm, trying to stop him.

"But Dan is in trouble! We have to save him! Let go of my arm, Shun!" Marucho shouted.

"Yeah Shun. Don't you care what happens to me? I thought you were my friend!" Dan's voice said.

"I am!" I said. "Is that really you, Dan?"

"Of course it is! Marucho hurry!" Dan's voice said. Then Marucho broke my grip and ran to save Dan. 'This doesn't feel right.' I thought. I put on my coat and went after him.

"Marucho!" I shouted, but it was too late.

"I'm coming, Mira! Hang on Mira!" I saw Ace about to go into the same light as Marucho was.

"Ace?!" I shouted. "Marucho, wait! Don't go in. It's a trap!" Then they both disappeared.

"That's just great." I said. I made to way back to the trailer to find Riley with her arms crossed and leaning against a wall.

"You heard the voices too. It was a trap, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Yes and now Marucho and Ace are gone." I replied.

"So now what do we do? I mean I have no idea how to drive Mira and Ace's trailer. Do you?" Riley said.

"No… Well I guess we're walking to Beta City." I said.

"It's looks like. I'll go pack." She said as she walked back to her room. When she came back she was wearing a black cover up. 'I guess great minds think alike.' I thought. I was wearing almost the same cover except, it was green. We were making our way to Beta city when Shadow appeared. 'Great. Just what we needed.' I thought.

"Howdy, partner." Shadow said. "We don't like strangers around these parts."

"Really?" Riley said.

"You see, Beta City is my territory and we can't have trespassers like you running around making trouble. If I were you, I'd clear on out or you could stay and I could teach you some manners, Vexos style." Laughed Shadow, sticking out his tongue.

"You talk big, Shadow, but we have a job to do and you can't stop us. We have to save the Bakugan, New Vestroia, and rescue our old partners." I said remembering my old friend Skyress. "So if I were you, I'd let us pass."

"Ha, sorry I'm gonna cry, but because you're going after the controller, I won't let you pass. So punks, think you can get by me?" asked Shadow, jumping from the balcony, tearing off his cowboy disguise.

"Maybe not, but it's time for me to find out." I dropped the bag I was carrying and tore of my green cloak, readying my Gauntlet. "Let's go!"

"Wait! I want to take on ponytail first!" He said pointing to Riley.

"Fine then! If it's a battle you want; it's a battle you'll get!" She said putting on her gauntlet. The first round went to Riley and she seemed very focused, until Shadow started talking about her brother and Phoenix. After that Riley started to get frustrated and lost the battle.

"I …I lost." She said as she picked up Griffin. I was walking towards her, to see if she was okay, but then Shadow's bakugan's tail whipped up, like it was going to attack her.

"Riley! Look out!" I shouted. But, before she could react, the bakugan's tail whipped her right into a wall and knocked her unconscious.

"Riley!" I shouted. 'Please be okay, please be okay' I kept saying in my mind. When I got to her she was still breathing. 'She's still breathing. I'm glad, but he's going to pay for what he's done to you.' I thought. I picked her up and laid her down on her back near where I was standing.

"You'll pay for that Shadow." I said giving him a glare.

"Oh! I'm so scared. Maybe you'll put up a better fight than your friend over there." He said laughing. I tried to win the battle for Riley's sake, but I just wasn't strong enough. Also I started to get frustrated when he started talking about Skyress being a statue. He then threw in a bakugan that looked just like Hydranoid, Alice's bakugan. It turned out to be another mechanical bakugan though. The last blow knocked me over and I was moments away from blacking out.

"Sorry Riley… sorry Dan." Then I blacked out.

**Normal POV**

Mylene, Volt and Shadow stood in an elevator descending the long underwater tower. The doors re-opened to a dark room with windows to see outside into the empty water. In the middle of the room were four capsules, each filled completely with water and a member of the Resistance.

Ace, Marucho, Shun and Riley floated still, inside the capsule, unconscious and unable to move, but they were still alive. In the middle of the capsule was a lock, held together by each of their partner Bakugan.

"Doesn't look like the Resistance is so tough now!" laughed Shadow.

"They're just defeated opponents; that's all. All we have to do is make sure that the rest of the Resistance stays on Earth, even if it means keeping Spectra there as well, and nobody will be in our way." Said Mylene. "Shouldn't we send the girl to Hydron right away?"

"I think we should keep her here awhile." Volt said as he stared at Riley.

"Volt, don't tell me you've actually like this girl." Mylene said.

"I think Volt's right. Let's keep her here. It will be a reminder of my victory!" Shadow said as laughed.

"Ugh, fine. Do what you want." Mylene said as she left the room.

A few days later…

"As you can see, Prince Hydron, now that the bakugan known as Drago is gone, the dimension controller's power is increasing once again. It even covers the alpha area. Now, if we could close the gate before the rest of the resistance can return from Earth, there will be no one left to interfere with our plans." Mylene said.

"Have you forgotten about Spectra and Gus? They haven't returned. Have they?" He said as he twisted a piece of his hair.

"Those two will find their way back, I'm sure-." Mylene started.

"No. We will wait until they return." Hydron said, cutting Mylene off. "If I know Spectra, he'll come back when he has found something of value. Let's see what he finds. Also, were you able to capture my bride?" Mylene looked at Volt. He gave her a glare, like was saying; say no.

"I'm sorry my prince. She got away on us. But, we'll keep looking." Mylene replied.

"Well hurry up, Mylene. I want my bride." He said. Then he hung up. Mylene looked at Volt. "Are you happy? I just lied to our prince."

"Very." Volt replied.


	10. Chapter 10

**Riley's POV**

'What happened? Oh right. I was defeated by Shadow Prove and then knocked into a wall. Everything went black after that... I'm on a floor. Why am I wet? Where's Griffin?' I thought. I picked myself up to see Ace, Shun, and Marucho still unconscious. Then I saw a purple and black ball next to me. I picked it up.

"Griffin?" I whispered. There was silence for a moment. Then the ball moved and Griffin woke up.

"Riley?" Griffin replied. I let out a sigh of relief. I lowered my head as tears started to cloud my eyes.

"I'm so glad." I said.

"There's no need to cry, Riley. I'm right here." Griffin said as he tried to comfort me. My tear quickly vanished as I heard Ace and his bakugan speak.

"Ace." cried Percival.

"Percival. Are you okay?" Ace said.

"What the heck happened to us?" Marucho said.

"And where are we?" Shun said.

"We've been out for a while and you guys have some serious bedheads." Elfin said as she looked at our hair.

"I believe we're in Beta City." I said.

"Well let's go while we still can." Ingram said.

"Agreed." Shun replied. Then the building shook. "Do you guys feel that?" We all looked at each other.

"Yup. There must be a battle going on." Marucho replied. Then we all took off down the hallway to find out who was battling.

"Drago!" Ace said.

"Where did Drago get that kind of power?" Marucho asked.

"It's the power of the Perfect Core." I replied. The battle ended with Dan as the victor.

"We did it, Drago!" Dan shouted. Then the controller was destroyed and our bakugan returned to their normal size! "It doesn't matter how much extra power you set the controller to take, it's nothing compared to Drago and the Perfect Core. You guys okay?"

"You made it back just in time." Ace said.

"You the man. Well after me." Marucho said. We all laughed.

"We'll talk later. Let's get out of here." Drago said as he blasted a hole in the wall for us to escape. 'Wait. Where's Mira?' I thought. Then we all got back in the trailer and headed for the Delta Controller.

"You're lying! There's no way Mira betray us! I won't believe it!" Ace shouted as gripped Dan's jacket collar.

"Stop it Ace!" Marucho shouted.

"I didn't want to believe it either, Ace! But, it's the truth." Dan said as he lowered his head.

"It can't be! Mira and I were fighting to free the bakugan long before you came here. She would never betray us!" Ace shouted.

"It doesn't make sense to me either, Ace." Dan said as his jacket was still being gripped by Ace. "But, I know what I saw and I heard."

"If you don't stop, I'll…" Ace said angrily.

"Calm down, Ace." Percival said.

"He's telling you the truth." Baron spoke up. "Stop it, Ace. Mira left willing with Spectra."

"Enough. Arguing won't bring her back." Drago said. Ace then let go of Dan's jacket.

"It's weird. I never would have guessed that Spectra was Mira's brother." Marucho said sadly.

"You neither." Elfin said.

"Try to forget it. We got to get moving to Gamma City." Shun said. 'There must have been a better reason why Mira would leave.' I thought.

"Shun is right. Our mission remains the same. No way what happens." Griffin said.

"Right." Dan nodded.

"Ace, we're counting on you." Percival said.

"I know." He said sadly. "… Mira." The next day we arrived at Gama City.

"Here we are; Gamma City." Baron said.

"Whoa. Look at the size of that controller!" Dan said.

"Uh Dan, that's not the controller. That's the elevator that connects the city to the palace." I said.

"That's handy." Dan said.

"Then where is the controller?" Marucho asked.

"It's down there!" Baron shouted as he pointed to the big hole in the ground.

"The whole city is underground?" Shun asked.

"Yeah, Gamma City is much more top secret than Beta or Alpha City. This is the first controller to land on New Vestroia. It's the strongest one of all." Baron  
replied.

"Okay. How do we get inside?" Marucho asked.

"That's way. With the central elevator, it'll take us straight to the heart of Gamma City." Ace said as he pointed to a huge dome not too far away.

"For once something that's easy! Come on. Let's get this show on the road!" Dan shouted.

"Wait Dan!" I shouted. "This way to easy."

"What do you mean?" Dan asked.

"Just take a look around." I said while Dan, Marucho and Shun looked at our surroundings. "The Vexos must know we're coming. Come on! There's not one guard around!"

"Riley's right." Shun said.

"Yeah. It's like they're daring us to come inside." Baron said.

"It must be a trap." Ingram said.

"Now what?" Dan asked.

"I'd looked for another way in, but that's it. That elevator is the only way in." Ace said.

"What do you say, Dan?" Marucho asked.

"It's not like we have a choice. We have one last controller to destroy and then the bakugan are free again. We didn't come this far too just stand outside. We got to go all the way!" Dan shouted.

"My head says we should be careful." Ace said.

"But then we would only end up back in the same place." Baron said.

"Right." Marucho said.

"Shun, Riley; Are you guys in?" Dan said. We both looked at each other. Then I looked back at Dan.

"I'm game." I said smiling.

"Alright, but everyone; you need to be on the lookout." Shun said.

"Let's do this!" Dan shouted. We entered the dome and took the elevator down to Gamma City.

"So this is the entrance to Gamma City." Dan said.

"Now Dan, the main elevator is over there!" Ace shouted.

"Not so fast!" a man's voice said. 'Volt. No doubt about it.' I thought.

"Who's that?" Dan asked.

"It's Volt." I said.

"I wondered when you'd show up." Dan said.

"If you want inside, I'll have to get passed me." Volt said.

"Well that shouldn't take long." Dan replied.

Baron and I looked at each other and nodded. Him and I stepped forward and took Volt's battle request.

"Gauntlet Power Strike!" We all shouted. When we did that, they just looked at us.

"Game card set!" Volt shouted. "Bakugan Brawl! Haos Brontes, stand!"

"Bakugan Brawl! Nemus stand!" Baron shouted. Then I looked back at my speechless teammates.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of here! Baron and I have got this one." I shouted. Baron nodded.

"Be careful, guys." Shun said. I knew that was very directed at me though since I have already been beaten once by Volt.

"Don't worry, I will." I replied. Then they all disappeared into the elevator. 'Good luck, guys.' I thought. Baron lost the first round of the battle and almost lost all his life points. So, then I stepped in and won the second for us. My win cost Volt about haft his life points. Baron pretty much begged me to let him take him down in the last round and he pulled through! We won!

"We won, Riley!" He shouted as he picked me up and hugged me.

"Yeah, I know!" I shouted back. "Um Baron, you can let me down now."

"Oh right. Sorry." Baron said as he put me down. "So, can I have your number now?"

I laughed and said, "No. Now, come on. Let catch up with the others."

"Right." Baron replied. Then we ran towards the elevator and made our way to the others.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Baron asked.

"It looks like Dan and Ace are fighting Mira." Marucho replied. 'So Ace was right all along. Mira was always on our side.' I thought. Then Gus got so mad he push Mira away, knocking her to the floor.

"Mira!" I shouted. I ran over to her to see if she was okay. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, thank you." She replied. I gave her a hand getting up and we watched the rest of the battle. Dan claimed all six mechanical bakugan. Then the ground started to shake!

"What is going on?" asked Dan.

"The floor is falling!" Marucho cried.

"Let's go!" Shun shouted. Then the floor gave way and we were all falling. Before our bakugan caught us, I noticed that Shun had took my hand and pulled me close.

"Thanks, Drago!" Dan shouted.

"You too, Ingram." Shun said. By then Shun was still handing my hand.

"Uh, Shun. We're not falling anymore. You can let go of my hand now." I said laughing slightly. He blushed and then let go. 'I should have kept my mouth shut.' I thought.

"I can't believe we destroyed the rest of the controllers!" shouted Baron.

"Also, best of all, the bakugan will be free for good!" Marucho said.

"Congrats, everyone!" Dan said.

"I'm sorry, guys. I…I'm very sorry." Mira said sadly. Then Dan put his hand on Mira's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Okay?" Dan said smiling.

"It's ok." Marucho said.

"Thanks. You guys are the best!" Mira said.

"You had us a little worried there." Dan said.

"But, we always knew you were with us Mira." I said.

"I admit I was scared at first when I saw you battling alongside Gus, but I'm glad that you were trying to help him." Said Marucho.

"Yeah, at first I didn't know what you were doing. I feel like a dork." Dan said, still smiling.

"It's not hard to fool you, Dan." Shun said.

"You're right." Dan said. We all started to laugh.

"I always believed in you. I know you. You would never go back on your word." Ace said.

"Thank you." Mira said smiling.

"Now there's only one more thing to do. Next stop; the palace!" Dan shouted.


	11. Chapter 11

**Riley's POV**

We all boarded our bakugan and flew up to the Vext Palace.

"Prince Hydron thinks he's so safe in his sky palace." Ace said.

"But, he's not while Tigrerra and the others as his prisoners." Baron said.

"I've seen them. They have been turned into bronze statues in his throne room." Mira said. 'I remember when I first saw Phoenix as a statue… I could feel tears in my eyes. I just couldn't bare the sight of my Phoenix as a statue. How could someone do such a thing?' I thought.

"That's horrible! We have got to free them." Marucho said.

"Don't worry Marucho. We'll free them all." Shun said.

"Hang on guys! We're coming and this time, nothing is going to stop us!" Dan shouted. As we about to reach the top, our bakugan turned back in ball form and we all started to fall. Luckily, Shun and I came prepared. We both took out our hooks and aimed for the same stop. He grabbed Mira and I grabbed Marucho.

"I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Thanks, Riley. I owe you one." Marucho said happily.

"Don't mention it." I smiled.

"But, what about Baron, Ace, and Dan?" Mira asked.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Shun replied, "We just need to go on with the mission." I nodded.

"I wonder why you guys turned back into balls." Marucho thought aloud.

"Yeah, didn't we destroy all of the controllers?" Elfin asked.

"It looks like the prince had an extra." I replied.

"Yes, the prince is trickier than we thought." Griffin said. When we got to the palace, we headed straight to the throne room.

"So, this Prince Hydron's throne room?" Marucho asked.

"We have to be careful; he could show up at any minute." Shun said.

"One of these buttons should do it." Mira said as she pressed some buttons. The first button she pressed; something rose from the floor. My eyes widen and my heart skipped a beat.

"Tony!" I said as I ran to container fill with water and my brother. On the other side there was a pad lock. 'Ugh. What could the cold be!?' I thought. I started to push random buttons trying to get the right combination.

"That's your brother?" Shun asked.

I looked at the 13 year old boy in the container. He was wearing his usual jean pants and red shirt. His hair was as black as night and underneath his closed eyelids were bright green eyes; like mine. Also I noticed the locket I gave him was around his neck. I smiled, inside was a picture of him and I when we were younger and our mom. I gave it to him to remember me while I was up in the mountains; training. "Yes, this is my Tony." I replied. I started to get frustrated; nothing was working! "Ugh! What could the code be!" I cried.

"Take a deep breath. How many characters does it have to be?" Marucho asked.

"Five." I replied. He walked over and punched a code.

"R-I-L-E-Y." he said aloud. Then the water started too drained out. I gasped.

"The passcode was my name?" I asked. 'Creepy.' I thought

"Yeah, I guess. I took a lucky guess." Marucho said laughing. Then it opened and as Tony fell out, I caught him just in time.

"Tony! Tony!" I shouted. His eyes started to open. I could feel tears cloud my eyes.

"Riley… I'm… sorry." He said slowly. I started to cry. Then I hugged him.

"There is nothing you need to be sorry about." I replied. Then we broke apart and he got back on his feet.

"Riley, who are these people?" Tony asked.

"Don't worry, Tony. You can trust these people." I smiled at him. He looked at me, confused.

"You actually 'trusted' people?" He asked. Then Marucho and Shun stared at me too.

"Yes, Tony. I did and I'm glad I did." I looked at Shun when I said this. He turned his head away, but I knew he was blushing. Then I bent down to Tony and said, "Tony, we don't have a lot of time, but we have to free phoenix and the bakugan Hydron has kept in here. We'll talk more later, I promise." Then I walked back to Mira to give her a hand.

**Tony's POV **

"Tony! Tony!" I heard someone shouting. 'This voice… it's familiar to me.' I thought. Then I sniffed the air. 'This scent… it smells like… vanilla? Riley always smells like vanilla.' I opened my eyes to see my sister. Then I suddenly said, "Riley… I'm… sorry." And I really was. I fell for a stupid trick and got captured. I'm just glad Riley cared enough to come after me. Then she hugged me and started to cry. 'Riley. I have missed you so much.' I thought and then returned the hug.

"There is nothing you need to be sorry about." She replied. Then we broke apart and she got me back on my feet. There was also three other people there with us; two guys and a girl. 'Who are these people? Are they after me and my sister!? Are they here to …help us? ...Wait, Riley doesn't trust anyone besides her bakugan, me and her ninja teacher. I should ask her.' I thought.

"Riley, who are these people?" I asked.

"Don't worry, Tony. You can trust these people." She smiled at me. 'I have never seen Riley smile like that before.' I thought. I gave her a confused look.

"You actually 'trusted' people?" I asked. Then the two guys started to stare at her too.

"Yes, Tony. I did and I'm glad I did." She looked at one of the guys when she said this. He tried to turn his head away, but I could tell he was blushing. 'This guy is totally crushing on my sister. Also I can tell Riley was totally crushing on this dude too.' I thought.

Then Riley bent down next to me and said, "Tony, we don't have a lot of time, but we have to free Phoenix and the bakugan Hydron has kept in here. We'll talk more later, I promise." I nodded and then she walked over the other girl. 'Riley actually trusted people and made friends? How long was I out for? Am I dreaming? Who's Hydron? How did this guy get Phoenix?' I thought. Then I walked over the red bakugan on the floor.

"Hey Grif, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine Tony." The red ball answered as it opened up.

"Wow. You and your sister have the some kind of bakugan except in different attributes." The shorter boy said.

"Yeah, Riley brawls with darkus bakugan and I brawl with pyrus. What's you name?" I asked.

"My name is Marucho." He replied. Then he pointed to the taller boy and said, "That's Shun," and then he pointed to the girl, "and that's Mira."

**Riley's POV **

The wall behind me and Mira started to rise revealing 6 bakugan statues. We all gasped.

"Skyress, Tigrerra, Gorem, Hydranoid, Preyas …and Phoenix." I said sadly.

"Do you like them, Riley? I already know what Mira thinks." Hydron said as he stepped I and leaned against one of the statues.

"Hydron!" I growled. I glared at him with disgust.

"Oh, I see you found your brother," Hydron said as he now glared at Tony.

I stepped in front of my brother and shouted, "Yeah, that's right; I'm taking him back!"

"Haven't you humans ever heard of knocking? I expected better manners especially from my future bride and Professor Clay's daughter. " Hydron said. Tony gasped. I growled at him. 'How dare he call me that in front of my brother!?' I thought.

"Now you all can show yourselves out or I'll punish you for trespassing on my collection, but you can leave Riley here." He spoke again.

"Collection?" Shun questioned.

"That's right. These 6 warrior bakugan are one off a kind. Also I only need the bakugan known as Drago, to complete the set. You fools are always interfering in my plans, but you won't stop me from getting him!" Hydron replied.

"You're a monster." I turned around to see Marucho on the urge of crying.

"What was that?" Hydron asked angrily.

"You took my best friend and treated him like a thing." Marucho spoke.

"Even worse than a thing." Elfin added.

"That's right." Mira said.

"I'm going to make you pay for that!" Marucho said right before running towards Hydron.

"Marucho!" Mira and I shouted. Right when he was close, Mylene tried to whip him!

"Mylene!" Shun said angrily.

"No one attacks a Vestal prince." Mylene said.

"I don't need help." Hydron said as Mylene stepped in front of him.

"Come with me, my prince." Mylene said.

"What did you say?" He said. 'Why does he seem scared?' I thought. "You can't tell me what to do!" Then Mylene grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room.

"Come back, cowards!" Marucho shouted.

"NO! WHAT ABOUT MY BRIDE AND MY COLLECTION!?" He shouted as he was dragged off. Mira, Marucho and I growled.

"Don't even think about them. We have to free our friends." Shun said.

"That's right. That's what we have been fighting for." Mira said happily. Mira quickly started to push some buttons and then something rose from in the center of the floor. We quickly ran over to it.

"Nice job." Shun said.

"Do you have any idea how to work it?" Marucho asked.

I cracked my knuckles and said, "Let's find out." I started typing away.

"Any luck?" Shun asked.

"A little, but we need to figure out the right number of keys to launch the reversal program." I replied.

"But, there are so many keys! Oh boy…" Marucho said.

"Look at that! The combinations are endless!" Griffin said.

"You got to be kidding me. We'll never be able to figure this out. It's impossible." Elfin said as she flew towards the keyboard. I then saw Marucho's tears. 'I have to do something. I'm not going to just sit back and watch him cry!' I thought.

"Don't say that. Nothing is impossible." I started to press random buttons on the keyboard.

"Riley, what are you doing?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to try every flipping combination on this board till I get." I replied. Elfin soon joined me.

"Thank you, Riley. You're going to make me start crying again." Marucho said.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help?" Elfin asked.

"We have nothing to lose." Mira said to Shun. He then nodded and started to help.

"Faster everybody!" Ingram said. After a while, we were getting anywhere.

"Maybe pressing random buttons isn't the best way to do this." Elfin said.

"You can't give up now, Elfin!" Griffin said.

"Who's giving up?" Elfin asked.

"Mira we can do this." Wilda said to Mira.

"Right." Mira said. I could tell she was losing hope.

"We keep catching pieces of it." Shun said.

"But, we need the whole code to free them. What if we can't do it?" Marucho asked. Then Marucho stopped and looked at the window. Dan and Spectra were brawling and crashed right into the building! Then Elfin fell and pushed the buttons in the right order we needed!

"I don't believe it!" Marucho shouted.

"We found it." Shun added.

"Told you nothing's impossible." I said. Our bakugan started to dance as the reversal process began.

"Finally; a lucky break." Shun said. 'I really hope he didn't jinx that.' I thought.

"Preyas, you'll be back to normal soon." Marucho said. 'Phoenix, I told you I'd come.' I thought.

"AUTO SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED! PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!" a voice said as it started to flash red.

"But, we can't leave! The conversion isn't complete." Elfin said.

"What do we do?!" Wilda asked.

"We have to get the brawlers out of here!" Ingram cried.

"I'm not leaving without Phoenix. We'll come too far to just walk away now!" I shouted.

"…Skyress." Shun mumbled.

"We're running out of time. We have to get out of here." Mira shouted.

"No! Not without the others!" Marucho said. Then the palace started to collapse!

"Mira watch out!" I shouted as a giant bolder almost hit her!

"Mira! You go on ahead, we'll finish up here." Shun shouted. Just then as my hand were still on the keyboard, a huge electric shock came from the system and pushed me back! I had hit the floor pretty hard too.

"Riley!" Tony and Shun shouted. Then Tony came running towards me, making sure I was alright.

"The system… is falling apart!" Shun said. Shun was getting mad and frustrated so he yelled out, "Skyress!" and it actually worked!

"Phoenix! Please, you have to break free!" I cried.

"Preyas, finish the transformation on your own." Marucho called out. Our bakugan became to break free right as the ground was caving in. 'Just great.' I thought. I pulled Tony into to me to protect him from any falling rocks. Right when we were about to fall something scooped as up and put us back on the ground. "Phoenix." I said quietly. The last controller was finally destroyed and our bakugan were set free. Then we all remembered that the place was going to self-destruct.

"There's no time to waste. Grif, Come here!" I said shouting to my brother's bakugan; he came flying down in seconds.

"What is it, Riley?" Grif replied. I lifted up Tony and put him on his bakugan.

"Get him out of here. I'll be right behind you." I said. Grif and Tony nodded and flew off. 'Good, now I now he's safe.' I thought. Then we all got on our bakugan once again and flew anyway from that death-trap.

"Oh my gosh! You guys got everyone back! I think I'm going to cry!" Baron said as cried and almost fell off his bakugan.

"Hold it! Where's Dan?" Mira shouted.

"He must still be battling." Shun replied. Then the palace had exploded. "Did they… make it?" I whispered. Then Drago soon appeared out of the cloud of dust. I huge sigh of relief came out of my mouth. Then I saw Mira jump into Dan's arms. 'Aw. What a cute ending!' I thought. Then I looked at Shun who looked happy as well. 'I'll never get a happy ending like that. I can just forget it.' I thought as I sighed again. We then landed to watch all of the newly freed bakugan.

"Now this is more like it." Dan said with amazement.

"Sure is. I can't believe we pulled it off." Mira said happily.

"This is what we fought for, Mira; peace in New Vestroia." Dan said.

"Yes, but the battle isn't over yet. We have to go back home, to Vestal." Mira said.

"But, if everyone knows the bakugan are intelligent now, can't the Vestal stay?" Dan asked.

"Yes, as long as we all respect each other and live by the rules, the Vestals and bakugan can live together in peace." Drago replied.

"Thank you Drago. But, I don't think it's as easy as that." Mira said.

"Prince Hydron will be back to claim New Vestroia." Ace said.

"That's why we're heading back to Vestal to spread the word and stop the Vexos cold." Baron said.

"We'll bring them to justice for enslaving the bakugan and taking the planet. But, we can't do it with Wilda and the others. Can they come with us, Drago?" Mira asked.

"Of course. If that is what they wish." Drago replied. Their bakugan agreed and were going back to Vestal with Mira, Baron and Ace. We were all saying our good byes and I was surprised Mira came up to me, told me I was a great friend to her and then hugged me. She was a great friend too. I'm really going to miss her… Then Baron took my hands and said, "Riley, since I'm leaving and all, can I have your number now?" He said holding out a pen with a puppy dog face. 'This is like the third time he has asked me... I guess sinde he leaving and all, I guess I could give it to him.' I though.

"Ok fine. But, don't call me more than once a week please. Okay?" I replied. He nodded and I wrote my number on his arm. Then Ace came up to me. He held out his hand and we shook hands.

"I think I might just miss you, Riley. You're an amazing brawler. Don't forget me." He said.

I giggled then replied, "Thanks, so are you and trust me, I won't." Then they took off. A tear came down my face knowing my adventure was over.

"Hey sis, are you alright?" Tony asked me.

I wiped away the tear and smiled. "Never better."

"So, I guess we all should be heading home too. Hey Drago, can the bakugan come back with us?" Dan asked.

"Of course they can." Drago replied. Then Elfin and Preyas started to argue about whose Marucho's partner is. All of the other bakugan we saved decided to come back with us too. Well almost everyone. I felt bad that Shun's old partner, Skyress, wasn't coming and after Shun went through all that trouble to get her back… Phoenix and Griffin said that they would come with me and someone had to watch over Tony, so Grif said he would come as well.

"Alright Drago, we're leaving! Bye buddy." Dan shouted.

"Say 'hi' to Runo and the others for me." He replied.

"What? You're not coming with us Drago?" Marucho asked.

"Drago can't come with us." Dan replied.

"What do you mean? There has got to be a way!" Marucho shouted.

"Apart of my body is the perfect core, which keeps New Vestroia stable. I'm afraid I can never leave New Vestroia again." Drago explained.

"That's not completely true Drago." A voice said. 'That voice sounds very familiar.' I thought.

"Apollonir?" Drago said. 'That's why it was familiar.' I thought. Then the six ancient warriors appeared.

"A bakugan evolves through battle and you have become even stronger than before, stronger enough to separate yourself from the perfect core." Apollonir said.

"But, how?" Drago asked.

"The core would stay here and you would keep a spark with you to maintain your link. You have become nearly as powerful as the perfect core itself." Apollonir explained.

"So, I can go to Earth with Dan?" Drago asked.

"Yes, it would make no sense to keep you here. You have earned the right to live where ever you wish." Apollonir said.

"Awesome! Drago, we're going home!" Dan shouted.

"You bet, partner." Drago said.

"Also you can open the dimensional gate yourself." Apollonir said. I looked up at the ancient warriors. It has been a long time since I had last seen them.

"It's nice to see you again, Riley. You have grown up so much since I last saw you." Exedra said.

I smiled and said, "It's nice to see you too, Exedra. Yeah, it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"You know Exedra and the others?" Shun asked.

"Yes, Riley was tested just like the rest of you. We needed her and her Phoenix to guard a piece infinity core for a time." Exedra replied.

"Wow. It that true, Riley?! I mean I had heard stories about the six ancient warriors, but I didn't know if it was true and you got tested by them!?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, it's real all right. It was a few weeks before the weather started to go out of control. From what they told me, you guys were tested each by one of them right? Well you see, I was tested by all of them. I actually heard rumors about you guys, but I wasn't sure if you guys were really the ones who were tested by them and what do you know? We all meet." I said.

"Can we talk about this more at home, let's go home everyone." Drago said as he opened the gate and we all jumped in. We ended up in front of this café and Dan rushed in like there was no tomorrow. Then Shun, Marucho and I all walk in.

"Shun! Marucho! Riley!" Runo shouted. Then jump into my arms for a hug. "I have missed you so much, Riley."

"I've missed you too, Runo." I replied.

"Who is this?" She asked pointing to Tony.

"This is Tony, my brother." I said.

"Oh, hey there." She said to Tony.

"Hi." Tony replied quietly.

"The battle brawlers are back to together!" Marucho said. Then a white haired girl walked through the door.

"Hey, Runo, Gorem's back!" She said. 'This must be Julie. I remember that voice…' I thought. "Okay… so everyone's back!" Then she looked at me. "You must be Riley! Wow. Dan told me you were pretty, but I didn't think you would be GORGEOUS!" she shouted. Then she hugged me. "Any friend of Dan's is a friend of mine."

"Thanks, uh Julie, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's right, welcome to the team, Riley!" She shouted again.

"The brawlers are back baby!" Dan shouted.

We all started to laugh. 'I guess trusting these guys was the best thing I've ever done. I got a great adventure, new and old friends, and even maybe, just maybe, a new crush. But I wonder if they noticed I'm gone?...' I thought.


End file.
